CSI THABILE
CSI THABILE
Strong Growth & Investment
Spells IT Success PRODUCTION: William Denstone
Amid a moribund overall economic feeling, South Africa is pegged for both rapid growth and strong spending in its information technology (IT) sector. CSi Thabile is ideally placed to capitalise fully on such confidence and opportunity, coupling the latest tools, equipment and innovative technologies with an unparalleled knowledge and understanding of data centre design.
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Starting life in 1981 as Computer Site Installations, CSi Thabile has come to be known for providing the physical platforms required to secure, manage and control the support systems that are so critical to the continued availability and function of IT infrastructure. Whatever the name behind its work, nearly 40 years of experience and continual investment in training and education of staff has kept the firm at the top of a very crowded pile in South Africa. CSi Thabile is 51% black owned and a level 2-rated BBBEE contributor and, through a specialised trust, funds the education of promising students from disadvantaged communities. “We aim to be a leading IT networking and cabling company that offers turnkey solutions and services to customers in Southern Africa,” the company summarises, “led by our key values of integrity, reliability, respect and professionalism.”
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MAJOR GROWTH According to new research from Gartner, South Africa is expected to be the fourth fastest-growing major IT market in the world in 2019. Gartner’s Research VP John-David Lovelock told TechCentral in July that the strong performance is set to be driven by companies’ embracing cloud computing, particularly on the back of investments by international cloud providers in local data centres, as well as corporate investments in software deployments and upgrades. IT spending in South Africa will total R303.5-billion in 2019, a 3.9% increase from 2018, with IT services and software expected to continue to perform well. “South Africa is still behind in terms of overall IT spending and continues to have a ‘technology debt’ to pay off,” Lovelock commented. “However, by achieving 3.9% growth in 2019, South Africa will be one of the fastest-growing countries in the world
— ranked fourth globally.” Corporate spending on cloud services and digital transformation is likely to be the sector’s saving grace in the coming years. “People who did not have cloud are now piling in,” Lovelock impressed. “Spending is almost all cloud-based growth, and CIOs must decide whether to build on-premise data centres or use the public cloud — and the cloud is prevailing.” The trend is being aided by Microsoft and Amazon’s launches of local hyperscale data centres.
// CSI THABILE IS A COMPANY AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF LEADING INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES //
INDUSTRY FOCUS: TECHNOLOGY
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS However the growth manifests, you can be sure that CSi Thabile will be on hand to facilitate it. The company splits its operations handily into three main arms: Connect, Equipment and Secure. A certified and registered supplier and installers of all major fibre optic and UTP cable and component suppliers, it can also ensure that these are expertly housed in any major local or international cabinet, of all standard shapes and sizes. Its equipment offering is vast, too, covering almost the entire range of needs for either a fledgling or fully established business. On the one hand, CSi Thabile will undertake the fabrication of server or network rooms themselves, encompassing brick works, fire-rated dry wall and doors and ceilings, and the installation of a raised or access floor with variable choice of height and scratch resistant cladding.
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On the other are the more intricate aspects of such a project: CSi Thabile will eagerly supply and install air-conditioning units, as well as the associated pipework, drainage and electrical supplies. Perhaps most crucially, the IT giant provides normal and dedicated power reticulation, to ensure consistently reliable and good quality power is available to computer and support equipment at all times. Staying safe and secure should be, and increasingly is, among a business’s primary concerns, and CSi Thabile minimises both the physical and cyber risks with aplomb. Designing and implementing fully automated fire detection and protection systems is one of its responses; these comply with insurance companies’ stringent demands, and come complete with control panels with monitoring interface, visual and audible warnings and integrity testing.
“The security of any sensitive site should include the security of the equipment and personnel, without hindering daily movement of staff carrying out normal daily functions,” it continues, and in response has devised solutions numbering biometric access control, including magnetic locks and door closers, CCTV monitoring
// WE AIM TO BE A LEADING IT NETWORKING AND CABLING COMPANY THAT OFFERS TURNKEY SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES TO CUSTOMERS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA //
CSI THABILE
and recording and the monitoring of vital IT support facilities. Everything is taken into consideration, and all threats are nullified. CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL So notorious is its superior expertise in relocating, upgrading and establishing data centre environments and network that CSi Thabile was awarded a valuable tender for the IT infrastructure at Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital. “CSi Thabile is a company at the cutting edge of leading innovative technologies, and is certified on all premier products on the market and remains committed to providing service excellence, and to delivering on time, every time,” the company says of its appointment. According to CSi Thabile’s Sales and Marketing Director, Mark Cheketri, “to be able to tender on projects requiring
these products you should have the OEM certification to design and install the product. CSi Thabile is in the fortunate position of being certified for design and installation of all premier products. “It is vital that we apply the correct standards, because routes and ceilings are generally closed as soon as we have completed each section, and any faults may require re opening of ceilings and stripping of looms,” he went on. “This in itself could cause delays and wasted labour. If the entire installation has been done and certified, the extended warranty gets issued, and the installation could run without any failures for many years as long as there is no physical abuse. “We have been in existence since 1981, and we have staff members that go back more than 30 years with us,” Cheketri concluded. “The IT industry is
small and everyone knows everyone. We find that service is the name of the game - you have to deliver at both the big jobs and the small jobs. You can’t always expect the client to only give you the big jobs. We have to be as enthusiastic about an order for R100 as we are for a R10 million order. “Too many companies in the IT industry only go for the big jobs and their after-sale service does not exist,” Cheketri mused of the importance of consistency and reliability to CSi Thabile’s continued success. “We try hard to retain our customers by giving them the service that they deserve.”
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November 2019
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NOVEMBER 2019